


Here Be No Dragons

by misura



Category: Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)
Genre: Getting Together, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-09
Updated: 2016-12-09
Packaged: 2018-09-08 09:10:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8838775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Elmont scowled. "Regular people have regular thoughts. You're not one of them. Come now, out with it. Is it Isabelle? She is deeply fond of you - you must know that.""She's not going to marry a commoner," said Jack."Well, she's not going to marry a noble, either. Trust me on this," Elmont said.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elsandry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elsandry/gifts).



_"Have a care, he's in a mood,"_ Elmont had said, and Isabelle had tossed back her hair and declared, _"So am I,"_ before dragging Jack right along into this lion's den.

Nobody had yet asked him for King Erik's crown. He'd judged it best to take it off his head, carrying it around with him in a bag that looked like it belonged to a farmer, and a poor one at that, which it did, discounting promises of rich royal rewards.

"My capital lies in ruins, many a good man dead, or nearly so, and what do my dear neighbors write me? They demand to know why, if the need was so great, they saw no beacon lit."

Jack winced. "Sire. I - "

"They have the balls to inform me that, lacking the clear evidence of a lit beacon, so they too lack a clear reason to send aid. What say you, Elmont, shall we send them a giant's head? Will that prove the truth of our need, do you think?"

"At the least, it will prove the valiance of our men," Elmont said. "Sire."

"Invasion? Will it come as far as that?" Brahmwell sighed and turned to Jack. "I tell you now: never become a king. A worse, more treacherous breed of men you will never meet."

"Present company excepted, naturally," Elmont said, his tone a trifle sharp.

"Naturally," Brahmwell said. "I came close to marrying my daughter to a traitor, a usurper and a murderer, and even now refuse to see her wed to the man she loves for the sake of an ancient law, but by all means, let's not let such things cast aspersions on the nobility of my character."

"Father."

Brahmwell sighed again. "Forgive me. You wished to speak to me?"

"There's a story of a great treasure hidden in the southern mountains," Isabelle said. "And we are in desperate need of money. What if the story is true? As the story of the giants was true?"

"If not, at the least it will make for a nice adventure, perfectly safe," Elmont added.

Brahmwell frowned. "If my memory serves me, the story spoke of a dragon."

"Exactly so, sire," Elmont bowed. "One single dragon. Even if the beast were still alive, I have no doubt that a dozen of your guardians will be equal to the task of slaying it. The princess will not be in danger for even a single moment. I give you my word."

"My daughter is a capable, sensible young woman," Brahmwell said, a trifle dryly. "It's people like you and Jack, with more courage than common sense who worry me."

Jack tried not to look to skeptical. He ought to feel flattered, he told himself. It wasn't every humble farmer's son who worried the king.

"Father," Isabelle said. "Please. We'll be careful."

"You see?" Brahmwell shook his head. "Half a queen already, making promises with no intention of keeping them. Fine, then. Go with my blessing, and my most earnest wishes for your safe return."

 

Three-quarters of the coin he'd received from the king, Jack had passed on to his uncle. It had been given to him as a parting gift; it seemed fitting to pass it on thus, in the hopes that this parting might last longer.

His uncle had expressed a likewise wish. There had been something bitter in that, something unexpected. Jack did not consider himself fond of his father's brother. Even so, the man was his only living family, who had grumblingly taken him in, fed and clothed him with constant complaint.

 _"I can see your cheerful disposition comes from no stranger,"_ Elmont had told him, after, smiling a bit - as much in sympathy as in amusement, Jack had thought.

Now, on his way to another adventure that might cost him his life, Jack wondered about his father. Dead from the same plague that had claimed Isabelle's mother, Elmont's younger brother, Crawe's little niece, and countless others.

The invasion by the giants had claimed far fewer victims, for all that it had laid waste to the capital.

The stalks, turned to rotting, served to fertilize fields that still had farmers left to tend them, to sow and to harvest. The giants's weapons, cast down before their ascent, might be melted into plowshares and, if necessary, armor and weaponry.

"What's with the long face?" Elmont asked, pulling up his horse next to faithful Anser. "Not having second thoughts, are we?"

"Just regular ones," Jack said.

Elmont scowled. "Regular people have regular thoughts. You're not one of them. Come now, out with it. Is it Isabelle? She is deeply fond of you - you must know that."

"She's not going to marry a commoner," said Jack.

"Well, she's not going to marry a noble, either. Trust me on this," Elmont said. "And anyway, what of it? You can still be her friend, her companion."

"Still remind ignorant country yokels to kneel in her presence?"

Elmont's expression suggested Jack had scored a point of some kind. "Among other things."

Jack shook his head. "I don't think that's going to be enough. I want more. If she doesn't - well, I'll have to accept that. And I will. But I'm not going to give up on my dreams simply because of some stupid law, and I don't think that she should, either."

"You sound like a revolutionary," Elmont said lightly. "Have a care to whom you voice such thoughts."

 

Cloister's kings and queens ruled because God Himself had appointed them. Jack was a bit vague on how, precisely, this had happened. There was probably a story about it somewhere.

By contrast, Gantua's ruler seemed to be based on coincidence. Whomever happened to have the crown, commanded the giants - in an absolute, no-disobedience-possible sort of way.

Jack supposed that it was because the crown had been forged with dark magic. It was a dark, evil thing, and he ought not to have kept it. The monks might know how to deal with it, keep it safe, even if they had not done a very good job the last time around.

Ahead of him, he heard Isabelle laugh at something Elmont had said.

Elmont was of noble blood, and his friend, and trained from birth to command other men. He clearly liked Isabelle.

 _"You can still be her friend, her companion,"_ Elmont had said, and, _"She's not going to marry a noble."_

 

"You must think I'm rather silly," Isabelle said.

They had reached the southern mountains two days ago. As yet, any and all traces of a dragon's lair appeared to have been erased by time, assuming there had been any to begin with.

"Not at all," Jack said. "In fact, I think you're absolutely wonderful. Smart, and beautiful."

"Quite the flatterer, isn't he?" commented Elmont.

"I know that this may prove to be nothing more than a wild goose chase," Isabelle said. "Or, worse, maybe we really will find a dragon, and it will kill us."

Elmont cleared his throat. "The words you left out are, I think, 'try to'."

"Maybe we'll just find a lot of treasure. Like the giants had," Jack said. "Maybe the dragon died of old age. Or maybe it's a nice dragon."

"And here you were worried we'd think you were rather silly," Elmont told Isabelle. "A nice dragon? What next, a generous dwarf? A carnivorous tree? A black unicorn?"

"Oh, but wouldn't it be fabulous if all the stories were true?" Isabelle said. "Think of all the adventures we could have, Elmont. The three of us, together. Bringing back treasure to help my father rebuild the kingdom, and stories to tell our children."

Elmont flashed an apologetic smile at his new second-in-command. "She gets like this sometimes. Not to worry. We generally succeed in talking her out of doing anything too rash."

"Really? When's the last time you talked me out of doing something?" Isabelle asked sweetly. "Was it that time when I was ten years old?"

Elmont shrugged. "Age comes with wisdom, Princess," adding, to Jack, "I was twelve at the time, and very impressed with myself. She suggested we ought to get married when we were older."

"And you talked her out of it?" Jack tried to imagine the scene.

"Naturally," Elmont said. "I was much more interested in young Lord Petrus at the time. Once I'd realized that girls had their attractions as well, it was far too late and the king had already set his heart on Roderick as future king."

"You let him talk you out of marrying him instead of Roderick?"

Isabelle looked annoyed. "Well, I didn't know that at the time, did I? And he was very rude about it."

"She stopped talking to me for an entire month," Elmont confirmed cheerfully. "Consider it a warning. There's a cruel streak hidden underneath all that wonderfulness."

"Oh, I'd never be rude to Isabelle," Jack said. He'd have liked to add that, also, he'd never been interested in anyone else, boy or girl, only that might be stretching the truth a bit, so he judged it best to refrain. "So what happened to Lord Petrus?"

"The usual." Elmont grimaced. "Married, then killed in the line of duty. Well, it was just a crush. I even danced with his wife at their wedding. Nice woman."

 

"One week," Elmont said.

It was raining again, the watery sky seeming to make the environment seem even grayer. Jack had never once thought of farmland as pretty or colorful before.

The dragon's lair remained elusive. Jack supposed that it made sense: the story was nearly as well-known as that of King Erik, and while magic beans were hard to come by, anyone who felt like it might saddle a horse or mule or even simply put on some boots and go exploring in the mountains.

"Two," countered Isabelle. "Come on, Elmont. Are you that eager to come back empty-handed?"

"I'll be bringing you and all my men back safely," Elmont said. "We haven't even lost any of the horses to the terrain. I expect His Majesty will be overjoyed. There might even be a reward in it for me."

"A reward."

"Well, maybe not a reward," Elmont amended. "Still, I don't foresee any royal frowns. Other than yours, of course, but be fair. You've had your adventure. Three weeks with Jack. Be content."

"This is not about Jack," Isabelle said. Her face was a little flushed. "How dare you imply that that's all this is about."

Jack coughed and raised his hand.

Elmont frowned at him, reached out and pulled it down. "I'm not implying that that's all this is about. I'm saying that it's something you should value. You're a princess. You should know better than anyone that marrying for love is a luxury you likely will not be able to afford, especially now that Cloister's on the brink of financial ruin."

"Your father's rich, isn't he? Maybe I should consider marrying you."

"I'd sooner marry Jack," Elmont said, his hand tightening around Jack's.

"Liar," said Jack. Not just because Elmont obviously was lying, and it hurt Isabelle, but also because Isabelle was also lying and hurting Elmont, and both of them were giving Jack a headache.

"I like you, Jack," Elmont said. "That is not a lie. And Isabelle would never marry a noble for no better reason than the law telling her to do so. She's stubborn that way, like her mother."

Isabelle shook her head. Her hair was getting wet with rain. "My mother married for love. Why shouldn't I?"

"Your mother was of noble blood, and she fell in love with a king." Elmont shrugged. "She was lucky."

"I think you should marry whomever you want," Jack said.

Isabelle smiled at him. "Thank you, Jack."

"And I'm sure that Elmont will make a very good husband and king."

" _Jack!_ "

 

Possibly, that had been a mistake. Jack knew that he hadn't meant to imply that he didn't want to marry Isabelle himself - he did. He also hadn't meant to imply that he wouldn't have wanted to marry Elmont, if it hadn't been for the fact that they were both men, and men could not marry before God.

He'd spent most of his life either at work or reading, dreaming. _Lazing about_ , his uncle had called it. He'd flirted back at some girls who'd flirted with him; he'd seen no reason to get offended when a boy tried to talk him into kissing them every once in a while, even though he'd generally thanked them politely and walked away.

It seemed unfair that after years of liking people, now he suddenly actually, genuinely loved two of them. God might have spaced them out a bit better, Jack thought - although he supposed that might have presented him with some trouble as well.

Marriage was a sacred thing, after all. Once he married Isabelle - _if_ he married Isabelle, it would put Elmont out of his reach for good. Like Lord Petrus had been, years ago.

If Elmont married Isabelle, Jack would be the one put out of both their reaches. He'd probably have to leave Cloister if that happened, Jack thought. It wouldn't be fair, otherwise. It wouldn't be bearable.

He'd take King Erik's crown, and Anser, and his knife, and he would set out to seek his fortune, knowing all the while that he would never again find his heart's desire.

"Are you quite done feeling sorry for yourself?" Elmont asked. "I brought wine - I thought I might join you for a drink."

 

 _"You had that look about you,"_ Elmont had said. _"The look of someone contemplating running away as a way to solve all their problems."_

 _"Trust me,"_ he'd added, refilling Jack's cup, _"it doesn't work."_

"Jack?" Not Elmont's voice. Isabelle's.

Opening his eyes took an unreasonable amount of effort. His head hurt, and his stomach seemed to be contemplating an armed revolt.

"Probably hung-over." Elmont's voice, sounding offensively cheerful. "Can't hold his liquor, poor lad."

"Whose fault would that be?" Isabelle asked.

"His uncle's, I suppose," Elmont replied. "Didn't strike me as the drinking type, so that sounds about right. Good morning, Princess. Did you sleep well?"

"At least I slept. What did you and Jack do?"

"Nothing!" Jack said. He tried to get up, which proved to be a mistake.

Elmont tsk'ed. "We drank some wine, we talked some men's talk. We declared our immortal love for life, one another, this beautiful kingdom and its lovely princess. The usual."

"I heard you," Isabelle said. She sounded angry and yet ... not. It was confusing.

Jack thought he probably would have been able to work it out if only he hadn't felt so horrible.

"You said you were asleep," Elmont accused. "If the noise disturbed you, kept you from your dreams, you should have said something. You have the right."

Isabelle sighed. "You're both such idiots."

"We're men," Elmont said. "Men are often idiots, even more often about women. We'd like to believe the opposite is true as well, but personally, I confess I have my doubts."

"I have some herb tea in my tent," said Isabelle. "It might help."

"A bit of rope, perhaps?" Elmont suggested. "Just to keep our lad here from doing anything rash."

"I said I heard you," Isabelle said. "You were very convincing. Thank you."

"Well. I have had a lot of practice talking headstrong people out of doing something rash."

"I love you, too," said Isabelle. "Both of you."

Jack half-rose. "I think I'm going to throw up."

"Not to worry," Elmont said. "I'm sure it wasn't anything you said, Princess."

 

"A fine state of affairs this is." Brahmwell sighed. "No dragon, no treasure. Five weeks' work and naught to show for it? A waste of time and resources better spent elsewhere."

"Well, we didn't see any troops or scouts from Amory," Elmont said. "That's good news. They must be waiting to see how our other neighbors will respond."

"An envoy from Halfram came, asking for your hand in marriage to their second prince, a likely lad not yet seventeen years of age, sound of mind and body, albeit a trifle overly fond of pies, or so I've been told," Brahmweel told Isabelle. "I told him no, your affections already having been fixed elsewhere. Was I wrong in doing so?"

Isabelle didn't blush. Elmont did, faintly. "No, Father. Thank you."

Brahmwell looked away. "I loved your mother very much. It is my dearest wish for you to feel that same happiness. If I must cheat, lie and plot against my neighbors to give you even a chance, then I will pay that price willingly. Speaking of prices - there is one I must ask of you. All of you."

"Sire. Anything."

"The giants of Gantua proved real. The dragon in the mountains of the south, less so. Still," Brahmwell continued, "there are many stories, and there may yet be truth in some of them. Find me such a story. Find me the means to save Cloister once again, not from giants, but from a far more dangerous race, if only because there are so many of us."

Isabelle's eyes were very bright, Jack noted. Well, so were his own, probably.

"You might think of it as an adventure," Brahmwell added, smiling. "The sort your mother always wanted you to have."


End file.
